An enthusiastic crowd of the culinary community’s biggest
fans had the opportunity to cool their well-turned heels while enjoying live
music, sipping innovative cocktails and nibbling the best bites the city
offers. The spacious venue allowed
sampling without lines, and the opportunity to mingle and converse with several
local chefs, who proudly presented a collection of impressive, ample nibbles.

“It was a privilege raising money for an Austin institution
like Meals on Wheels and More. All of
our tasting sponsors were outstanding, and we were especially privileged to get
the exclusive first taste of St. Philip (opening soon),” shared AFBA
Philanthropy Chair, Christy Horton.

Kathryn Hutchison, president of the Austin Food Blogger
Alliance, had this to share about the group’s philanthropic involvement in the
community, and Meals on Wheels and More, the benefactor of the organization’s
most recent event:

AFBA
has a strong history of supporting philanthropic organizations, through
fundraisers like The Big Chill, volunteer days, and social media awareness
campaigns. Since the group was founded in 2011, our bloggers have supported the
Capital Area Food Bank, the Sustainable Food Center, ARC of the Capital Area,
Bake a Wish, Safe Place, Slow Food and many other organizations.

Meals
on Wheels was a natural choice for partnership for our 2014 fundraising gala,
since they are doing such important work here in Austin. As food bloggers, we
have a unique voice and role in the larger Austin community. It's a privilege
to use the collective clout of our members to benefit organizations like Meals
on Wheels and More.

Meals on Wheels and More seeks to “nourish and enrich the
lives of the homebound and other people in need through programs that promote
dignity and independent living.”
Volunteer and donor opportunities can be found by visiting their website
at http://www.mealsonwheelsandmore.org/

They are the hipster-riffic appetizer of the moment.
They are on the menus of the places to eat.
They are eaten roasted, grilled, fried, broiled, and tossed with salt, olive oil, balsamic, garlic, maybe covered or tossed with cheese or sausage or almost anything you can imagine-- or nothing at all.
They are in season right now (don't wait much longer!).
They are the bomb.

On a recent trip to one of Austin's local farmers' market, I hit the jackpot. Local Johnson's Backyard Garden set me up with the peppers and the onions, to accompany the lovely Indigo Rose heirloom tomatoes I was cradling in my palms like precious treasures. Because they were. And their cost was commensurate with their value. (Let me just say, right here, that heirloom tomatoes cost way more than the conventional mealy, tasteless tomato I'm purchasing for half the price, and getting less than half of the satisfaction. In tomatoland, you get what you pay for.)

Shishitos are small Japanese peppers, mildly spicy and sweet, about the size of serrano, but without the assertive heat that hotter chile peppers pack. Mostly.

Because the fun of shishitos are that about one in ten pack a bit more wallop than the rest. And no amount of studying will determine which pepper will surprise you a bit. Each bite is accompanied by 'is this the one?', and all eyes are on the eater.

Admittedly, even the offender is still much less aggressive in heat than its cousins, serranos, jalapenos, habaneros, and the like.

Simply toasted with a drizzle of oil and tossed with a little coarse ground salt, a bowlful is blissful, shared, with a few ice-cold beers.

--served with herbed chevre, either purchased as is, or home-seasoned, using the herbs with which you season the vegetables.

Note: Chevre can be very soft, or it can be found to be a bit firmer. I began with a firm chevre, seasoned it as above, added a bit of minced fresh garlic, and enough heavy whipping cream to allow it the softness necessary for spreading, a little more than a teaspoon.

Serve, plain, as an appetizer, tossed together for a tasty side or lunch, or, if desired, with crostini, or crackers

The Process

Preheat broiler. (Alternatively, you may grill, or pan-roast in a cast-iron skillet over high heat.)

Wash vegetables and dry thoroughly.

In a small pan,
1. Place washed and completely dried whole shishito peppers.
2. Add whole, washed and thoroughly dried small, heirloom tomatoes.
3. Slice whole onion in half, lengthwise, and into bite-sized wedges and toss with peppers and tomatoes.
4. Season--For this batch, I drizzled with olive oil, the juice and zest of a lemon, coarse ground salt, and sesame seeds.

On the top rack under the preheated broiler, place pan, and watch closely, with oven door ajar, until vegetables begin to char. Remove from heat, carefully, then toss and return to broiler, repeating until most sides of vegetables are blistered.

Remove from heat, allow to cool a bit, taste, and correct seasonings.

While the ease of standard prep of a drizzle of oil and a sprinkle of good salt makes these little babies so simple and attractive, they are the perfect foil for seasoning combinations that are bit, like me, out of the ordinary.

Sesame oil, either toasted or not, as well as hot chili oil, in combination with olive oil (to lower the smoke point just a bit) lends an entirely different flavor profile, well-suited to seasonings like freshly grated ginger, garlic, sesame seeds, and Asian spice blends.

To go in a Spanish-inspired direction, consider a 'grassier' olive oil, perhaps with sliced Marconi almonds and smoked paprika.

Go oil-less with your favorite vinegar or citrus-based sauces like Ponzu, as well as soy or tamari sauces.

Italian-inspired flavors of garlic and Parmesan cheese, perhaps with coarsely ground black pepper? And then dip them into a golden runny yolk of a poached egg??? Well, you can see how fun these little treats can be.

Play around a bit with your favorite flavors and see what masterpiece you develop!

And feeling a little hot and spicy these days, yourself? Learn how, and why, to heat up, and cool off, with these, and other nutritional power-packing peppers. Visit Tips For Tuesday, Superfood: Hot Peppers! and find scads of delicious peppery dishes, all by fellow Austin Food Blogger Alliance members by visiting the link above, on Notes From Maggie's Farm.

Oh, it needs to be flavorful, and healthy, and seasonal, and all that, but some days, like MONdays, and many other days as well, you just want to dispense with the chit-chat and get on with things.

Today. Is. One. Of. Those. Days.

There are about a million things going on in this world of mine, and I bet you could say the same.

BECAUSE IT'S MONDAY.

You may find yourself in the same to-do list on steroids boat. And there's nothing more dangerous to your healthy-eating plans than hurry up when you're hungry. Because when hurry up and hungry show up, drive-thru isn't far behind. Nutritional disaster.

Little dishes like this multi-cultural Thai Sesame Ginger-Dressed Armenian Cucumber Salad, prepared at the beginning of the week, and just waiting for hurried and hungry, save my nutritional day. Bright, flavor-packed, easy-- I make sure I'm prepared for days like this, with dishes like these.

The Armenian cucumber is thin, elongated, curved and often irregularly curled with a dark green to creamy pistachio colored skin that is textured with smooth longitudinal furrows. Actually a melon in classification, its flesh is crisp, succulent and mildly flavored, similar to a common cucumber. Ideally-sized Armenian cucumbers will range in length from 10-15 inches. Longer cucumbers will tend to be not just over-sized, but also overly mature with less moisture content. The Armenian cucumber is entirely edible. Available in local farmers markets and produce sections, now.

Combine dressing ingredients in a medium bowl, whisking well to blend, and adjusting seasonings to taste. (Watch out for those peppers! Wash hands after handling and be aware that they will 'bloom' as time goes by-- making this salad more fiery by the day. Which is great for your metabolism, incidentally!)

Add remaining salad ingredients to dressing, toss, and allow to chill for one hour before serving. Keep covered and refrigerate for as long as a week, though best eaten within the first few days of preparing.

Take THAT, drive-thru!If healthy, wealthy, and wise are your thing, be sure to stop back by this week for seasonal, economical, nutritious, and superfood-packed recipes, (including the hipster-fabulous and favorite shishito peppers!) on Notes From Maggie's Farm.